After a sleep in this morning, Long and I headed downstairs first. We popped into the Delafrance store and got some breakfast.
chicken strips, alfafa, rocket and seeded mustard
I also got a cup of creamy pumpkin soup to go.
We walked around for most of the morning looking for a jacket for Long. Once that mission was accomplished, we went to Minotaur on Elizabeth Street. This is heaven for geeks - they sell everything from manga to fantasy novels to sci-fi. Yes, I loved it!
While the guys were busy shopping for comics, Ivy and I decided we'd had enough and left them in the store to continue down Flinders Street. We stopped to have coffee at a little cafe called 3four2.
We continued on over the river and then spent some time trying to find the boys. We eventually caught up with them at Southgate and then went to find somewhere to have lunch. Now we had decided that during this trip, we would eat a different cuisine for each meal. Lunch today would be Italian!
I forgot to catch the name of the restaurant, but it looked cosy and we were able to get a table out the front under the heater. Our waitress took our order and there was a mixup when our entrees came out. She had mistakenly brought us out the entrees we had originally ordered and claimed she did not hear us when we changed our minds. Long had her bring out the dishes that we wanted. He the man.
tossed with fresh bay seafood, onion, crushed garlic & basil
and finished with olive oil and white wine
with bacon, mushroom and onion,
finished in a creamy white wine sauce
tossed with chicken pieces, mushrooms and broccoli,
cooked in a mild curry and coconut cream sauce
I had a few glasses of the Jamiesons Run Cabernet Sauvignon. It kept me really nice and warm!
After lunch, we went to the Melbourne Aquarium and spent the afternoon gazing at the marine life displays.
Our favourite part had to be the very first display we saw - the one with the penguins. It was awesome! The penguins were almost as tall as I was and they were only the second or third tallest in the world. The world's tallest penguins could possibly be taller than me!!
and watched the sharks, rays and fish in awe
After the aquarium, we went back to the apartment for a bit of a rest before going out to dinner. On the way, we stopped at a BreadTalk store and got some snacks.
Back at the apartment, I took out the candle that I'd bought back in Perth to put on the slice of mango cake Ivy had bought for him. Whenever I see candles with soccer balls, I always buy them for Benoit. We couldn't find any matches or a lighter, so after a few attempts of trying to light the candle on the stove, Long went downstairs to get some matches from the nearest 7-eleven.
The bread roll of interest was the 'black bamboo' roll. It tasted like garlic bread but the bread was rather oily. To me, it looked like squid ink was injected into the dough and it was just regular bread with garlic through it.
We decided on having Japanese for dinner tonight before Long had to get to the airport to fly back to Perth. I led the way to Lygon Street, not knowing that this street is referred to as 'Little Italy' by the locals. Crap! We walked all the way down the street and had lost hope by the time we spotted a small Japanese restaurant down a side street. We decided to keep looking but ended up going back there to eat since we couldn't find anywhere else and time was running out.
As we ordered our food, I wasn't feel so well. I think the mochi ball I ate earlier made me sick. Lately, I've found that certain things containing green tea make me sick. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but I remember one night in Singapore I drank two cups of green tea and was up dry-retching the whole night. Anyhow, I threw up the mochi ball and the chunks of the black bamboo bread I'd eaten and then felt much much better!
After shouting us dinner, Long hailed a taxi to the airport and the rest of us got a taxi and headed to the Crown Casino. Ivy met up with her friend, Fee went to meet his friends, and Benoit and I headed to the roulette tables. We usually go to the casino each year around our birthday and play roulette so I suppose now it's become a ritual for us. We changed $50 worth of chips and played for about two hours. Benoit had broken even and I was down $30 and we were ready to call it night, but Benoit thought we should play it all and just hope for the best since we're bound to be lucky as it's our birthday. I usually only play $20 when I'm at Burswood in Perth, but being on holidays, it doesn't feel as bad to lose that money.
We waited for the dealer to spin the ball, and then went at it, placing chips on direct numbers. NUMBER 7! It was the first number I put a chip on - we won! So Ben was up and I was now only $5 down. Not bad for two hours of play! While we waited for Ivy, we went and played a few dollars at the slots. Benoit kept winning back the dollar he was putting in. I was tempted to go back and keep playing the roulette!
Exhausted, we went back to the hotel and lazed around for a bit before bed.
As usual, I was hungry. Long and I had bought some instant noodles bowls when we were at a 7-eleven yesterday.
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